3 ways the feds can modernize job training to solve the tech workforce shortage

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University leaders advocator for much flexibility successful assistance backing and much apprenticeships and just-in-time training.

Young pistillate having online training, utilizing laptop and wireless headset

Universities, vocational schools and workforce improvement leaders should grow connected lessons from the pandemic to enactment lifelong learners, alternatively of short-time students. The national authorities tin assistance this improvement by changing the rules for Pell grants and helping tiny businesses money much apprenticeship programs. University presidents made these recommendations astatine the "Future of Tech Town Hall" lawsuit this week.

The Knight Foundation, the Future of Tech Commission, ExcelinEd and the Florida Chamber of Commerce hosted the event. The Foundation's Miami director, Raul Moas, moderated the sheet discussion.

Madeline Pumariega, president of Miami Dade College, said the pandemic created overnight changes that would person different required a twelvemonth and a taskforce to accomplish.

"All of those silos broke down during the crisis, and there's nary crushed for america to let them to beryllium built backmost up," she said. "With this caller normal, we're quicker and much responsive, and that allows america to beryllium much innovative."

SEE: IT occupation and wage guide: Highest tech salaries, top-paying cities, and compensation-boosting tips (TechRepublic Premium)

Pumariega said companies privation employees to person 3 circumstantial accomplishment sets:

Future impervious skills specified arsenic plan thinking, resilience and dependability
Strong penning and investigation abilities
Digital skills beyond basal machine literacy specified arsenic quantum and cloud computing and artificial intelligence

"We person to level up our ain radical to nutrient the endowment we spot the request for," Pumariega said.

Gov. Deval Patrick, co-commissioner of the Future of Tech Commission and erstwhile Governor of Massachusetts, closed the treatment with a question astir however universities volition sphere their relation successful processing bully citizens, arsenic good arsenic bully employees.

Pumariega said that assemblage leaders person to retrieve that not everything is microwavable successful presumption of learning.

"Some things request to marinate overnight and dilatory navigator the adjacent day," she said. "We are not going to nutrient robots. It's not conscionable astir tech skills but beingness skills and civic engagement skills."

Here are the recommendations astir modernizing acquisition and workforce grooming applicable successful the 21st century.

Expand the options for Pell grants

Students who suffice for a Pell assistance person to usage the backing to be a assemblage oregon assemblage to attain an undergraduate degree. The assemblage leaders privation to spot that backing expanded to screen much options for students who mightiness not request a degree.

Pumariega said that each grooming from manufacture certifications to integer apprenticeships to assemblage classes should number toward a degree.

"To physique lifelong learners, we request stackable credentials and aggregate introduction and exit points," she said. "Funding has to align for this benignant of nimbleness and that volition beryllium captious for national policy."

Hardrick said that this attack volition assistance not lone radical with assemblage degrees but for radical who proceed to reinvent themselves during the people of a career.

The radical besides called for much coordination wide among each acquisition groups. Pumariega said that Florida is simply a bully illustration to travel with this benignant of coordination based connected the changes that the Reimagining Education and Career Help Act proposes. This measure would interruption down silos astir workforce acquisition and perchance marque it easier for radical to "stack" credentials. This could besides marque it easier to physique toward an undergraduate grade without spending 4 years consecutive successful school.

"There's nary concealed that states triumph connected talent," she said. "That's the caller economical driver: 'What's your endowment excavation look like?'"

Create much just-in-time grooming options

Rosenberg predicted that conscionable in-time learning is going to go the modular for each education. He said universities request to get amended astatine offering this benignant of grooming and that national incentives request to alteration to money these offerings.

"We request structures that let america to crook connected a dime," helium said.

Rosenberg added that personalized learning is different alteration driven by the pandemic that volition endure. He predicted that each students volition beryllium connected customized acquisition pathways wrong a fewer years.

"We'll person the tech measurement techniques and the large information to bash this," helium said.

He besides predicted that the crisp lines betwixt vocational grooming and assemblage classes volition disappear.

"The marketplace is going to thrust that," helium said.

Fund much apprenticeship programs

Jaffus Hardrick, president of Florida Memorial University, said that determination should beryllium much options for radical to enactment and larn astatine the aforesaid time. He said that galore students look the situation of moving and going to schoolhouse astatine the aforesaid time.

"I emotion the thought of moving much collaboratively to guarantee students tin enactment successful schoolhouse and enactment focused," helium said.

SEE: Technology successful education: The latest products and trends (free PDF) (TechRepublic)

Pumariega added that caller apprenticeship backing should assistance tiny businesses connection paid internships arsenic well.

While Rosenberg agreed that universities should make much opportunities to larn and gain astatine the aforesaid time.

"We speech astir reskilling and upskilling, but determination are existent lives and existent checking accounts that request to beryllium replenished portion a idiosyncratic is learning," helium said.

FMU precocious launched 12 certificate programs that past six, 8 oregon 12 weeks arsenic a mode to assistance students and the assemblage arsenic well.

"To marque that a reality, I had to enactment with concern partners to rise the funds, truthful it wouldn't beryllium a greater load connected students," Rosenberg said. "We person to remember, endowment is universal, accidental is not."